25 of the Most Outrageous Interview Questions

"If you could get rid of one state in the U.S., which would it be and why?"

Florida? C'mon, you've always had a thing against Florida since that whole hanging chad business. California? Alaska? One of the Dakotas? Do we really need two Dakotas?

This is just one of the 25 weird questions that job site Glassdoor.com found in its annual survey of oddball interview questions. The question was asked by a Forrester Research interviewer for a position as a research associate.

Most people walk into a job interview expecting, "Tell me a little bit about yourself," or "What are your strengths and weaknesses," but the truth is, these crazy questions get asked at all types of companies, from Bank of America to Amazon.com.

"What do you think about when you are alone in your car?"

That question was asked during an interview for an associate analyst position at Gallup.

How would you answer it? I suppose "a string of profanity and karaoke" would be an unacceptable answer.

"I would say, 'On the way to work I'm thinking about the 20 things on my to-do list when I get into the office,'" said Amanda Lachapelle, director of HR and talent acquisition for Glassdoor. "That demonstrates that you're on and ready to go when you get there."

"Part of it is kind of creating good conversation," Lachapelle said. "Saying 'I don't know' stalls the conversation a bit," she said.

I'd say. That's a conversational dead end!

Seriously, do you really want an interviewer to conclude that, after knowing each other just five minutes, you have nothing else to say to one another? God forbid you run into one another in the kitchen while heating up a Lean Cuisine — those will be the longest five minutes of your life!

On the "don't" list, Lachapelle suggests, never speak negatively about a past employer or former co-worker.

And never, under any circumstances, miss an opportunity to sell yourself. Even if a penguin walks into the room!

Here's the full list of Glassdoor's 25 outrageous interview questions for 2013:

"If you were to get rid of one state in the U.S., which would it be and why?" — Asked at Forrester Research, research associate candidate.

"How many cows are in Canada?" – Asked at Google, for a local data quality evaluator position.

"How many quarters would you need to reach the height of the Empire State building?" – Asked at JetBlue, for a job as a pricing/revenue management analyst.

"A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?" – Asked at Clark Construction Group, office engineer candidate.

"Can you say: 'Peter Pepper Picked a Pickled Pepper' and cross-sell a washing machine at the same time?" – Asked at MasterCard, call center candidate.

"If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?" – Asked at Trader Joe's, crew candidate.

"How would people communicate in a perfect world?" – Asked at Novell, software engineer candidate.

"How do you make a tuna sandwich?" – Asked at Astron Consulting, office manager candidate.

"My wife and I are going on vacation, where would you recommend?" – Asked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, advisory associate candidate.

"You are a head chef at a restaurant and your team has been selected to be on 'Iron Chef.' How do you prepare your team for the competition and how do you leverage the competition for your restaurant?" – Asked at Accenture, business analyst candidate.

"Estimate how many windows are in New York." – Asked at Bain & Co., associate consultant candidate.